Persona: The Remembrance and Forgotten
by Gones
Summary: First Persona 3 and 4 crossover. Chapter 3 revised. "Thus all remembrance of things past indicates the inevitable absence of the self from itself." -Carol Jacobs
1. Chapter 1

"Ugh…" A certain blue haired boy who went by the name of Minato Arisato groaned. He was lying on his stomach, with his face flat on the damp grass. He strained his muscles just trying to get on his knees, but he was completely exhausted. Minato collapsed onto the ground again, and rolled onto his back. He brushed away the cold sweat that had gathered on his forehead and closed his eyes. He felt the warm sunlight on his face; in the meanwhile his body ached, and screamed for rest. Minato winced in pain, and slowly drifted into sleep.

* * *

"Welcome to the Velvet Room, my dear young man. Or should I say, welcome back?" An old man with an impossibly long nose grinned in a maniacal fashion.

"Igor…" The blue haired boy muttered tiredly as he slumped into his seat. He quietly glanced around the room, and found instead of the familiar elevator-like room, it was now the interior of a monorail, or train; like the one he had ridden to Port Island. Another change was that Elizabeth was nowhere to be found. Instead, there was a much older woman who resembled her.

"My dear you man, if you are wondering about the appearance of the Velvet Room, it is because a new Wild Card has yet awaken." Igor said mildly as Minato raised an eyebrow. "A 5th generation Wild Card…"

"5th?" Minato gave Igor a questioning look. "Why a train…?"

"You may think of it as a train of thoughts, dreams, memories even…" Igor spoke enigmatically. "Memories are held together solely if the person wishes to remember, but as you know, time unfailingly goes on, and everyone forgets. We struggle to remember the faces of lost loved ones, even to remember a slightest detail…"

Minato nodded in agreement.

"You of all people should know this. After all, your memories were the chains that held the Great Seal in place…"

"…Speaking of which… Why am I out of the Seal…?" Minato murmured as he stared at Igor for an answer.

"My dear young man, I am not the one to explain." Igor replied in a rather solemn manner, and then turned to the woman who sat nearby. "Margaret, would you be so kind enough to explain?

"…Yes master." The woman spoke unenthusiastically. She wore a similar outfit to Elizabeth, and had pale blond hair and piercing yellow eyes. She gave Igor a curt nod, and then stared intently at Minato, which made him slightly uncomfortable.

"…You must be that human boy my sister took such a fancy to. If you are here, that must mean she has finally accomplished her mission." She closed her eyes a let out a deep sigh.

"Who…?"

"Who am I?" She reopened her yellow eyes. "I am Margaret, sister to Elizabeth and also a resident of the Velvet Room." She paused briefly. "You see, after you became the essence of the Great Seal, my sister confronted me, and told me a tale. A tale of a human boy who had dedicated his life to protect, no. _To shield _humanity from death."

Minato remained silent. Margaret continued with her explanation.

"After she had told he this tale, she had made it clear to me that she wanted to save this boy from his fate, no matter the cost. Elizabeth then left the Velvet Room to accomplish that task." Margaret paused. "She finally succeeded. Elizabeth became the Great Seal in your place."

"……" Minato gave a solemn look as he slowly turned to Igor.

"My dear young man, never forget she sacrificed her life to you, so that you would be able to have a second chance at yours. However…" Igor let his voice trail off.

"…Does this have something to do with the new Wild Card?"

"How perceptive of you." Igor chuckled. "Indeed, my dear young man. This Wild Card's ordeal affects you and the other as well."

"It involves me… and the other?"

"Precisely. This particular ordeal concerns you Wild Cards specifically." Igor waved his hand, and a familiar contract and feathered pen fell onto Minato's lap. "I have read your cards, and I foresee the foreboding clouds in you future. It is entirely your choice to intervene and accept our services once more, or take the latter route."

"…You say this affects me as well. There's no escape is there?" Minato sighed as her resigning signed the contract. As he put down the pen, he looked up at the old man, and asked, "But tell me, Igor. Who are the other Wild Cards involved in this ordeal?"

"Of course that is your only question. The fourth generation Wild Card is none other than Souji Seta. The one who unknowingly gave Elizabeth her chance to free you. The other… I cannot tell. This Wild Card has yet to awaken to their abilities."

"I see…" Minato mumbled dejectedly.

"Forgive me, but it almost slipped my mind. Please, take this." Igor waved his hand once more, and an ornate blue key fell into Minato's hand. "Much time has passed in your world. How the events unfold, how the people you have made bonds with react, how new bonds may be forged… all comes with time. 'Til then, my dear young man."

* * *

Minato awoke once more, still tired, but not exhausted as before. Groggily he got to his feet, and examined his surroundings. He was near a river, which had a small dock. When he looked up, the sky warned of rain, and the fact that it was bitterly cold didn't help. Minato sneezed, and shoved his hands into his apparent pockets in an effort to stay warm. He then spotted a bench that overlooked the river, which thankfully had a cover of some sort so it wouldn't be touched by incoming rain. He quietly walked over and sat down on the bench.

The night was dark, almost ominous. The murky lamplight barely illuminated the darkness cast by the clouds. From what Minato could tell, he had probably landed somewhere in the countryside, far away from Port Island.

He had no idea where he was.

"Cold…" He shivered as he lifted his hands out of his pockets to try to warm them with his breath. As he did, he squinted through the darkness to see if anyone was around, but as he expected, there wasn't a sign of anyone, or anything to tell him where he was. Minato resumed his previous position after noticing his breath was as nearly cold as his hands. He pointed his face downward, and shivered again. Soon enough, it began to rain. Thankfully, Minato did not get wet.

Wishing he still had his watch, Minato looked up at the sky, and saw a gap in the clouds, where the moon seemed to be peeking at him.

'_Hello to you too, Ryoji…' _He thought as he looked away. Minato was used to being alone, but after his past adventure through the Dark Hour and its horrors, he missed the companionship of his fellow S.E.E.S. members. He stared at the waning moon wonderingly, as he thought what his friends were doing. Soon, his eyes began to glaze from the brightness of the moon. He closed his eyes to listen to the sound of the rain falling.

"…Excuse me, but what are you doing?"

Minato opened his eyes. There was a girl who looked about sixteen or seventeen, maybe. She wore a plain white turtleneck sweater, and a plain black skirt that went just above her knees. He hair was jet black, and looked like it was supposed to be a bob-cut. Despite the fact she had shorthair, she wore a head wrap like a head band, giving her a particular appearance. Another thing that stuck out was the bag of groceries and umbrella she held in her arm and hand. She had a lethargic look in her eyes, as if she were dreaming.

"…What are you doing out here?" She repeated.

Minato honestly didn't know where he was. He shrugged.

"So, are you lost or something?"

"…Lost." Minato admitted, while trying to hide his embarrassed tone.

The lethargic look in the girl's eyes vanished. Her eyes showed no emotion. She stared at Minato for a few moments before saying, " I'm guessing you don't have a place to stay either."

"…"

"…I'm not being forward, but do you want to stay at my place? Staying here won't do you any good, especially in this weather."

Minato gave the girl a blank stare. It hadn't even been five minutes, and she had asked him to stay at her place.

"I don't mean it that way." The girl murmured softly as the rain continued to fall. "I mean, you probably could go to the Amagi Inn, but…" The girl shrugged.

"Yes or no?"

Staying at the Inn sounded like a good idea, but Minato had no money. He contemplated his answer before giving a small nod.

"…Okay. Follow me." The girl waited patiently as Minato stood up stiffly from the bench. She let Minato under her umbrella as the both proceeded to walk through the rain.

It was incredibly awkward, because the girl and Minato never said anything to each other as they walked through a suburban area. After she had led him past a dozen other houses, she finally stopped at the gate of a rather large house. She quietly handed Minato the umbrella to Minato as she dug through her skirt pocket and pulled out a simple copper key. She unlocked the gate and the door, took the umbrella, and let Minato inside.

"Give me a moment to put these away. I'll get you the phone in a minute." She said after she had gone inside the house herself and removed her shoes. As she stepped onto the wooden paneling, she turned around and faced Minato. "Is something wrong?"

"…Are you sure it's all right for me to be here?" Minato protested as he remain in the doorway. "What about your parents…?"

"If it wasn't okay, I wouldn't have asked you to stay. As for my parents, they aren't here." She stopped when she saw the puzzled look on Minato's face, then explained, "They're working somewhere out of Japan, so I live by myself. Please excuse me."

After she had spoken, she walked through a doorway, and out of Minato's sight.

After a moment, Minato closed the door, removed his shoes, walked to a nearby sofa, and sat down. The sofa was similar to the couches at his dorm, so Minato slightly relaxed. As he waited, he glanced around the room. There was a rather large flat-screen TV, which seemed too big for actual use. Next to the TV, was a small coffee table with a faced-down photo frame. Above it, was a calendar with the date set at March 2012.

'_So… it's already been three years… Igor wasn't kidding.' _Minato thought to himself. _'That means that they're in college now…'_

Disheartened, Minato slumped into the sofa, and found himself staring at his reflection on the TV screen. He looked the same as the last time he remembered; Navy-blue hair, gray eyes, Gekkoukan uniform, he even had his MP3 player. As he stared at his reflection on the TV screen, he could've sworn he saw white ripples on the screen. Minato blinked. As he stood up to examine the TV, the girl walked into the room, holding her house phone.

"I forgot to introduce myself." The girl said apologetically. "My name is Kioku Ayasaki."

"Minato Arisato." He nodded as he turned his attention to her. "…Can you tell me where I am?"

"Yasoinaba, or Inaba. And seeing your uniform, means that you're from that private school at Port Island, right?"

"Yeah. How do you know that?"

"My junior year. My school took a trip there." She informed. "Now, can you tell me how you ended up here?"

"…I don't remember." Minato lied, for he knew full well she wouldn't believe him if he told her his story.

"…Okay." Kioku nodded, and then handed him her house phone. "Try calling any of your contacts."

"Thank you." He said politely as he took the phone from Kioku and dialed the only number present in his mind: the Dorm's.

"This number is no longer in service. Please hang up and try again."

Minato frowned slightly, and redialed the number.

"This number is no longer in service. Please hang up and try again."

"…That's right, they wouldn't be living there anymore… They're in college…" He mumbled quietly, as her handed the phone back to her. "…I guess… the number was disconnected…"

"Oh... Then, I guess I should show you the guest room. Is that all right?" She asked as she placed the phone on the coffee table.

"......" Minato sighed. "Yeah… I guess I'll be stuck here for a while… I'm sorry for causing you trouble, Ayasaki-san."

"None at all." Kioku flashed a half smile. "But, I do have school tomorrow, so I won't be here 'til later. Follow me."

Minato nodded, as he followed his new acquaintance up the stairs, to a hallway with several doors.

"The guest room is on the right. My room's in the center, and my parents' room is on the far right, but don't go in there. The living room and kitchen are downstairs, along with the bathroom." Kioku said in an informing tone. "…Like I said before, I won't be here tomorrow because I have school. You could go out and explore the town if you'd like, but there isn't much to look at."

"......" Minato shook his head. "…Thank you for letting me stay."

Kioku stared at him for a moment. She looked like she wanted to say something to him, but instead, she gave a curt nod. "Well, good night Arisato-san." She gave a polite bow, and headed toward her own room.

Minato hesitantly opened the door to his temporary room. It was roughly larger than his old dorm room, minus the furniture. It was very simplistic; the room had a bed, desk, a small sofa and TV. The most noticeable thing was the stack of books lying on the desk, which Kioku had presumably read already. Curious, Minato walked over to the stack of books and picked up the latest one, "The Pink Alligator."

"…Akinari." Minato said finally after he opened the book and began reading, hearing only the sounds of the ticking clock, and the soft pattering of rain. After some time had passed, Minato put it down after reaching the middle of the book. Due to an old habit, he could never find himself sleepy at this time of night, despite the fact that he was always a tired person. He sat down on the bed, and removed his Gekkoukan blazer.

"…" He found himself staring at the TV screen again as the clock continued to tick.

_Tick… Tock…_

Not moving, he glanced outside the window. It was still raining, but not as hard as before.

_Tick… Tock… Tick…_

All of a sudden, a strange hum was emitted from the TV as a faint image appeared on its screen. Minato knew he left the TV off, so what the hell was going on? He continued to stare at the screen, when an unfamiliar silhouette of a person appeared. Minato continued to stare at it, but couldn't make it out. Moments later, the silhouette faded into its yellowish background, then disappeared all together.

"…?"

Just as he stood up to examine the TV, the image and humming stopped. Once again, he saw his reflection staring at him. Minato tore his eyes away from the inky black screen, and glanced at the clock.

It was just past Midnight.

* * *

**A/n:** Okay, I haven't been on the computer for about three weeks due to my "sans motivation". I also haven't been on, because flipnotes! :D Anyway, all other stuff aside, I'm writing up updates. For all stories. So please, give me time, I'm stressing put and I feel like my head is going to explode if I don't take it easy. Damn, I'm in it deep... yes. I apologize.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Persona characters.

Quick A/n: I had a seizure while writing this. It involved me slamming my head on the keyboard. My dad walked into the room and asked he what I was doing. I told him, "I'm forcing the hamster in my head to start running."

The story will be mainly told in Minato's POV, but occasionally switch to a different character. Such as in this chapter.

The result was this, and a massive headache. I apologize again, I put the wrong date on the calendar last chapter. It's actually April. Whoopsies.

**

* * *

**

**4/13/12 Morning [FRI]**

Minato had awakened by the sunbeams that had fallen on his face. He stretched and sat up on the bed, first wondering where he was, but remembering about the past day's events. He stood up, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains. It seemed a little cloudy outside, and wet due to yesterday's rain, but the sun out. Minato left the window as it was, and opened the door to leave the room.

As he walked down the wooden stairs, Minato also remembered what that girl had told him… Kioku, was it? Anyway, he had remembered that she wouldn't be here, because she had school. He took a turn into a random doorway, and found himself in the kitchen. On the table, wrapped in a cloth with a peculiar design, was presumably a bento. To make sure, he undid the knot to find his assumptions correct. He stared at it for a couple of moments, and considered what to do with it. Should he eat?

'…_Maybe… I should give it back to her…' _Minato thought at first, but shook his head. _'…Then again, I don't have anything better to do…'_

He then took the lunch, and proceeded to exit the house. That was how Minato's day started out.

"…Come to think of it… Where's her school anyway?"

* * *

**Northern Shopping District**

Still wearing his Gekkoukan uniform, Minato asked the locals where the school was. Some of these people greeted him coldly, or ignored him all together. But finally, his persistence paid off. He met a woman with her son, who kindly told him the directions to the school. He thanked her, and walked away, with one hand in his pocket, and another holding the bento.

Inaba was a somewhat rural town. It wasn't as modern as he thought, but, it had it's upsides, and downsides. Though, there was that overly sized department store with an annoying theme song, but it wasn't nearly as great as the Paulownia Mall. He decided he would check it out some other time. After walking for quite sometime, he finally found the school.

"Yasogami… It looks nothing like Gekkoukan." Minato noted as he compared the sizes of the schools. "…Moving on."

And just like that, Minato waltzed into the school.

At first, he thought of taking the bento to the main office to avoid being seen by other students, especially because one: he wasn't wearing the right uniform, and two: He didn't even go to the school. As he started to the teacher's lounge, he stopped dead in his tracks. Even if he took the bento there, they'd probably ignore him and kick him out, and thus, his Mission would be failed. It would also be a bit too cliché to his liking.

Instead, he went to the class listings near the shoe lockers and searched her name in the Junior classes, only to find that her name was no where to be seen. He moved to the senior classes next, and sure enough, her name was there.

"Kioku Ayasaki…" Minato trailed her name to the class on the opposite side. "3-F…"

Minato bit his lip. Judging the fact that no one was in the hallways, class was most likely in session.

"…Might as well bring it to her…" He muttered as began trekking up a flight of stairs. "I'm already here."

But then again, would he surprise her by doing this? It was just a small favor, so there wasn't any harm doing so, right? Sure, he would crash in the middle of a lecture or something, but he didn't really care. Also, he was unknown here, so who would care if he did it anyway?

He remembered Yukari told once told him nothing fazes him.

Quietly, he made his way up another staircase, and stopped at the top step to make sure the coast was clear.

…It felt somewhat nice to be in school again, despite that this was not his own. He remembered skipping class once, and being reprimanded by Ms. Toriumi, or rather, "Maya-chan"…

Minato skimmed down the aisle, and stopped at her classroom.

'_No turning back now.'_ He thought nonchalantly, as he placed his open hand on the door and slid it open.

"Now, which poet wrote the most poems about Tanabata in the Man-Yoshu?" A scraggly-looking man glanced at the door, as did all the other students as soon as he stepped through the door. "Eh… Who might you be?"

"Just a passerby." Minato replied with his blank stare, unfazed by all the eyes on him.

"Cheeky, aren't you?" The Teacher snorted. "Well, can you answer the question?"

"Kakinomoto no Hitomaro." Minato responded duly as he spotted Kioku sitting near the back of the class. She gave him a look, which clearly said, "What-the-hell-are-you-doing?" He shrugged.

Quietly, he made his way to the back of the class, and laid the Bento on her desk. He turned to the teacher once more, and asked, "Am I right?"

The teacher blinked a couple of times, and mumbled something inaudible under his breath. "I-Indeed. Now, may I ask you again, who are you?"

"I'm just a casual observer. Now if you please excuse me..." And he walked out of the room, just like that. No one stopped him.

After closing the door behind him, he smirked, and began walking down the stairs.

"I've still got it."

* * *

**Lunchtime (Point-of-view Change)**

It just occurred to Kioku that she had forgotten her bento, when _he_ waltzed in and handed it to her. Though it wasn't the first time this week she forgot. After he had left, Mr. Kondo was left speechless. He had even dropped his chalk onto the floor.

She was rather impressed at that guy… Minato's display. He had come just in time actually. The Lunch bell rang a couple minutes after, and woke Mr. Kondo from his stupor. Now, that he gave her the bento, she didn't have to wait until she got home to eat. She carefully undid the knot of the cloth, and opened her lunch.

"Omigosh, Ayasaki-san! Who was that guy?!" It was that Satonaka girl. Kioku didn't know anyone here well enough to know their first names. "Y'know, that cool blue-haired guy who just walked in here!"

"Err…" Kioku wasn't very fond of talking to her classmates, and especially didn't like being dragged into conversations. She continued to stare down at her lunch, as she grabbed a pair of chopsticks.

"Chie, don't disturb her. She looks kind of uncomfortable."

_At least she's considerate enough to notice. _Kioku thought as she continued to stare at her lunch. The mini-hamburger steaks looked tasty. Judging by the other voice, it was probably that other girl who always hung out with Satonaka. Amagi, was it? That girl who was the manager of the Inn?

"Oh, Yukiko, don't you want to know who that guy was? Or are you still having a thing with Souji-kun?"

"Chie! Not here!" She was obviously embarrassed. "It's not like that between me and Souji-kun!"

"Sure, sure… Anyway, Ayasaki-san, I didn't recognize that guy's uniform. Actually, I've never seen him here before! You do know him, right?"

"…"

"Satonaka, remember that place we went to during Junior year?"

Yet another person entered the conversation. Great.

"Oh, you mean that school, and place with no steak?"

"Is that all you think about? _STEAK_?"

"No, I think about other things too! Oh wait, now that you mention it, you think he's from that big private school?"

"…Yes, Chie. Why else would I bring the subject up?"

"Shaddup Failsuke Baka-mura!"

"Dammit, I told you to stop calling me that!"

One of Hanamura and Satonaka's infamous lovers' quarrels. If someone didn't stop them, they'd go on for hours. Kioku continued to eat, trying to ignore them; despite the fact they were standing right next to her desk.

She could tell that today was going to be a long day, but other than that, she needed to thank that guy later. Maybe that was something to look forward to.

* * *

(**Point-of View change**) **Samegawa River**

Minato sat on the dock, skipping stones. His current record was four skips, so he continued throwing rocks into the River, seeing if they would get skip more than the last. He dug through his pockets, and pulled out a plain black wallet.

'_So I did have money. Oh well, too late…'_ He mused as he shoved the wallet back into his pocket. _'…Come to think of it, why didn't I notice it before?'_

He shrugged to himself, as he tossed another pebble into the river. It didn't skip this time. He sighed, and began thinking of his friends again.

How were they? Did they move on? Was Junpei actually in college with the rest of them? Minato kept his smirk to himself. He couldn't possibly imagine Junpei in college. Maybe as he thought about it, Yukari was busy scolding him. As for the others… Yukari, Fuuka, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Ken, even Koromaru, and Aegis… He wondered about them, he worried for them.

"Aegis…" He didn't notice, but he said her name aloud. He remembered, when he asked her to wait. Did she still remember that promise?

He sighed again, and softly tossed another pebble into the river, watching the ripples.

Ripples… come to think off it, he saw ripples on a TV screen. Compared to what he had gone through, that wasn't really extraordinary, but it certainly was new.

Resigning, Minato dropped the next pebble he was going to throw on the concrete dock, and lay down on the cool cement. The sky was still cloudy, but the sun was out now. He watched the puffy white clouds drift lazily by, with a serene expression on his face. Suddenly, something poked his leg.

Somewhat surprised, he sat up on the dock again, and glanced around. Nobody was around.

"Yip."

He spoke, or rather thought too soon. Behind him, was a rather large fox with a scarred eye. It wore a red heart-patterned bib, and continually stared at him.

"…Sorry, but I don't have any food for you."

"Yip." The fox shook its head, and resumed its stare.

"…" Minato began returning the fox's stare. He knew that animals, such as Koromaru could understand humans, so did it apply to the fox? Quietly, Minato got up to his feet, and gave it a questioning look. "…Do you want something from me?"

The fox yipped happily, and Minato assumed he guessed right. It began running in circles around him, and stopped. Using its jaws, it reached into its bib and pulled out a familiar object. Minato's eyes widened.

"My… evoker?" Minato stared at the gun-shaped object in the fox's maw. As he bent down to take it, the fox jumped away. "…Where did you find that?"

A muffled yip escaped the fox's lips, as it continued to stare at him.

"…What would a fox want?" He muttered as he searched his pockets. Finally, his hand came to rest on his wallet, which he found moments ago. The fox yipped again when it saw it.

"…Of course it would want money…" Minato pulled out a few thousand yen out of the wallet, in response, the fox began pushing its bib against his pants leg. He let the bills fall into the fox's bib, as it waited patiently for him to do so. After he had done his part, the fox had dropped the evoker at his feet.

After the transaction, the fox yipped happily, and sped off toward town.

After it was no longer in sight, Minato picked the evoker off the ground, and examined its frame. There were no bite marks evident where the fox had gripped it in its mouth, though it was slightly wet. Its silver frame was a light as he recalled, as his hand grew adjusted to the familiarity of its weight. It remained emblazoned with the S.E.E.S, emblem, which Minato had grown to treasure.

As he shoved the evoker in his pants pocket to keep it out of sight, he wondered where to go next. At first, he considered following the fox back into town, but for some unknown reason, his judgment told him otherwise. In the end, he sat back down on the tiny pier, and resumed skipping stones.

"…I wonder how long until her school ends…" He yawned.

* * *

(**Point-of View change**) After School

She was walking home now. She didn't have any clubs or sports to attend to like other students. Though, she couldn't help chuckling when she thought of how Satonaka won the argument.

" '_Critical hit to the Nads…_' " She quoted while walking down the concrete road. The wind felt nice on her face, as she continued to walk. Even though it was cloudy, she liked these sorts of days best.

She continued to walk down the Samegawa floodplains, when she saw someone lying on the dock.

Curious, she walked down to the Riverbank, and saw the ever-mysterious blue haired boy, asleep on the dock. As she walked to him, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen him somewhere before, or someone who had looked like that. Hesitantly, she knelt beside him.

"Excuse me, please wake up." She said as she shook him gently. "Err… Arisato-san?"

"…Huh?" He blinked a couple of times before noticing she was kneeling next to him. He sat up, and stretched his arms. "Hey."

"Hi. Thanks for bring my bento. That would've been the… fifth time I've forgotten this week."

"Forgetful?"

Kioku nodded. "I'm only good at remembering… certain things."

"…I see." He stretched his arms out again, and got to his feet.

"…Yeah. Anyway, you nearly floored Mr. Kondo." Kioku grinned as she stood up as well.

"Your teacher?"

"You shut him up. No one's had the audacity to stand up to him, nor gotten his questions right."

"Does that include you?"

"No. Never bothered to call on me."

"…I see. Who does he call then?"

"Mostly people in the middle rows. Thankfully, I sit next to the window."

"Like views?"

"Yes." She cracked a small smile. "…Well, I'm going back to the house. You coming, or are you going to stay out a little longer?"

"I guess I'll go with you." He nodded in agreement. "…But, do you have anything to eat?"

"I had my bento… so you must be starving." Kioku blinked. "When's the last time you've eaten anything?"

After a moment of serious thinking, he finally answered, "…It feels like it's been three years."

"Then I better cook a lot." Kioku mused. "Three years, huh?"

"…Yeah."

There was a pause of awkward silence. Right about when she was going to ask him something, he spoke again.

"…Does anything happen at midnight?"

'_What kind of question is that?'_ Kioku frowned slightly. "Not that I know of."

"…Okay."

They didn't say another word until they reached her house.

* * *

**Evening**

Kioku continued to cook, as he continued to ask for seconds, thirds… For such a lean guy, he could eat. 'A lot' would be an understatement.

She finally stopped cooking and made her own dinner, whereas Minato looked up at her, and gave an apologetic look.

"Well, you certainly weren't kidding when you said you felt like you haven't eaten anything in three years." Kioku chuckled. "No worries. I'll get groceries tomorrow at Junes."

"Junes?"

"The ridiculously big store in the shopping district."

"Ohh." He began to eat more slowly.

"Yep." She said as she began poking around a carrot. "…Don't you have any other clothes? You've been wearing your uniform since yesterday."

"…I wish I did, but..." He let his voice trail off, and shrugged.

"Okay."

Every so often when Kioku thought he wasn't looking, she made quick glances at him. She had seen him somewhere before… but when and where, she couldn't remember. After all, didn't she meet him just yesterday?

"…Well, thank you for the food." He bowed his head politely as he gathered up his dishes, and placed them gently into the sink.

"It's no problem at all." She felt a faint line of blush on her cheeks, as she hurried to clear her own dishes. "I'll just wash these, so… yeah."

Flustered. Perhaps this was the longest time since she felt this way.

"All right." Minato shoved his hands into his pockets, and shrugged. "…But still, thanks again."

"…You're welcome." A small smile escaped her thoughts, and appeared on her face. "Just ask if you need anything."

He nodded, and walked out of the room.

Now alone, she had her thoughts run free. She had seen him before… but where?

* * *

**(Point-of-view Change) Late Night**

Now In his room, he collapsed onto the bed, and picked up the book he read the previous night. At some point, it began raining again without Minato's notice.

"…Why does she keep staring at me?" He thought aloud, after reading several pages.

It was true. At the table when they were eating, every time she thought when he wasn't looking, she tried taking a look at his face, with a strange expression. He had never been to Inaba before, and this was the second time he had seen her. Likewise, perhaps it was the same for Kioku.

Puzzled, Minato placed the bookmark at his new page, and sighed. He didn't feel like finishing the book today, despite how close to the end he was.

Curiously, he glanced at the TV. It was off, and he hadn't touched it since he got here. Pushing further into the matter, he stood up, and walked over to the TV. Like last night, he continued to stare at its screen, hoping it would turn on or something. But after a while, it made no response. Discouraged, he turned away form the TV.

"Maybe it was my imagination…" He muttered to himself disapprovingly.

_Tick… Tock… Tick…_

"…That clock's going to drive me insane…."

_Tock… Tick…_

As he began to walk away from the TV, he heard the strange humming. Cautiously, he turned around, and saw the same unearthly background as before. After a couple of seconds, an outline of a person showed once again, except more clearly than last night's. Minato frowned, and stepped closer to the TV.

…_Thou art I… I art thou…_

Minato stared at the TV screen in surprise, to see something staring back at him.

"…O-Orpheus?"

Before he could get closer to the TV, the show, or whatever the hell that program was stopped. Intently, he cast his eyes on the clock, with minute hand past midnight.

"…She told me nothing happens…"

* * *

**A/n:** Honestly, I didn't like this chapter too much. It's a little boring, but trust me, It'll get better...


	3. Chapter 3

_A/n:__** I hope things will be a little more interesting, and a little bit to your liking. No, there is no romantic relationship between Kioku, and Minato. I never intend it to be that way. Also, It just occurred to me that Persona 3 and 4 both started in April. Oh. **_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Persona characters.**_

* * *

_**4/14/09 Morning [SAT]**_

He awoke once more, except this time more accustomed to his new surroundings. What on earth had he seen on the TV last night? Had it been all a dream? Minato pressed his temples, and sat up in bed.

It was cloudier than yesterday. The sun was not shining as much, but it still resembled a good day. He decided to leave his evoker and blazer jacket on the desk, wearing only his plants, and white dress shirt. Quietly, he made his way downstairs, and immediately turned to the kitchen.

She wasn't there, of course. She had school today as well. In the kitchen, on the table, were a couple of scrambled eggs on a plate, covered in plastic wrap. Walking closer, he noticed that there was a ten thousand yen bill on the table next to the food, and a note. Minato picked the note off the table, and read it to himself.

_Arisato-san,_

_I'm obviously not here, so you're free to explore the house or town. Just don't go into my room, or my parents' room._

"Okay…"

_The ten thousand yen is your lunch, and whatever-else-you-need money. I suggest going to Junes to get new clothes. I didn't think you'd want to wear your uniform all the time._

"Yeah… but why ten thousand yen?"

_The clothes are expensive, as for the local delicacy._

"Oh."

_Last thing: If you go out again, you won't be able to get back inside the house until I get from school. Just keep that in mind._

_-Kioku_

"…" Minato put the note down, and turned his attention to the eggs and money lying on the table. He contemplated whether he should take the money. He already had a lot of Yen due to his 'Tartarus' bank. In the end, he took the money and placed it in his wallet, and ate the eggs (which weren't half bad).

Again, Minato thought about his choices where to spend the day. Finally, he decided to explore town.

* * *

**Junes, Morning**

"**Welcome to Junes!!"** A blond had jumped at Minato as soon as he had strolled through the automatic doors. In reflex, Minato jumped backwards.

He decided to get new clothes, so he asked around for directions to get to Junes. In actuality, the store itself was too big to miss, and now that he was here, he had been 'greeted' into the store.

"So, what may I help you with today?!" The blond yelled cheerfully.

Minato stared at the boy for a moment. The boy wore a white dress shirt with frills, lean black jeans, with an orange apron. Aside from that, his hair was wind-swept in a way, and he had bright blue eyes that reminded him of… Ryoji.

"Hellooo? Customer to Teddie?" The blond yelled again. "What may Teddie help you with?"

"Err… Can you direct me to the clothes section?" Minato asked reluctantly, as the boy slowly began to beam.

"Why yes! Junes has an excellent selection of clothes!" He yelled enthusiastically, while making elaborate gestures. "I am Teddie, and I shall be your guide today!"

"…Great."

"_Great_? Ohh! Wait 'til Yosuke hears this!" Teddie began jumping around like an excited little kid. "Follow me!"

Minato nodded, and followed the blond as he led him through several sections of the store. Finally, they had reached a rather large selection of clothes, of all types. Teddie stopped and turned around.

"Would you like me to help you with your selection, sir?"

"…No. I'll do just fine." Minato quickly shook his head, and said coolly, "Thanks."

Teddie nodded, and walked off into another section of the store. Now that he was alone, he had an easy time choosing out an navy-blue and white shirt, and black pants. While choosing, he noticed tat he had picked out a similar attire to the ones he had worn three years ago. Minato sighed, and head off to the check out.

As soon as he had left the clothes department, he had ended up somehow in the grocery section, and when he turned to another direction, he found himself in the electronics. Quietly, he decided not to make any other sudden turns before he got lost in the department store. He walked over to a nearby headphones rack, and began examining the latest models, before glancing at his Walkman. It needed new batteries.

As he began inspected a package of batteries, Minato noticed Teddie was standing in front of an oversized flat screen TV. The boy seemed mesmerized by something.

"Hey." He called out, catching the boy's attention. "What are you doing?"

"Oh?" Immediately, the blond woke from his trance and turned his head toward Minato. "Oh! You're that customer Teddie helped before!" He walked to Minato and grinned. "Did you need something…uh…?"

"Minato. Minato Arisato."

"Okay Minato-san!" He yelled exuberantly. "What can I help you with?"

"…The checkout."

"Oh. You seem more lost than Teddie was when he first got here." He shrugged. "You aren't from around here, like Sensei was, are you?"

"Sensei?"

"Teddie's Sensei!" He declared gleefully. "He isn't here anymore, but he promised to visit soon. Maybe Minato-san could meet Sensei!"

"…I see." Minato nodded duly. "Well then, can you please direct me to the checkout?"

"Yes sir! The check out is that-a-way to the right." He pointed straight down the headphone aisle.

"All right. Thanks Teddie-san."

"Bye Minato-san!" Teddie grinned. "Teddie has business to do!"

As Minato walked away from the electronics, he couldn't dismiss that there was something odd about the blond.

After paying for his new clothes (which were expensive, as Kioku had told), he had a decent amount leftover from the money she had given to him. Before leaving the store, he went into the changing room and changed into his new clothes. Lastly, he replaced the dead battery in his Walkman and clipped on his Audio Technica headphones, and drowned out the annoying music of Junes.

* * *

**Northern Shopping District, Noon**

As he noted yesterday, there wasn't much to do or see in Inaba. Walking up the concrete pavement, he noticed the red archway of a Shinto gate.

"…So they have a shrine here as well." He mumbled quietly to himself as he began walking up the worn steps.

When he reached the top of the steps, he saw a rather neat shrine. It seemed a little unkempt, but interestedly, he walked up to the offertory box. Depositing a couple of his own yen, he clapped his hand together in silent prayer for a moment. After he had done so, he saw a small stack of ema plaques. Thoughtfully, he picked the ema up, and wrote his wish carefully, in his best handwriting. After a few moments of examining his handiwork, he placed the ema on a small rack, and sauntered away, content.

"_I wish for my friends' happiness in life, wherever they may be."_

* * *

**Lunchtime ****(Point of View Change)**

She had made sure that this time, she didn't forget her lunch. She didn't want Minato walking in during another lecture, despite how the change of pace was refreshing. She usually spent her school day droning out the window, paying no heed to her classmates. In fact, she should've started eating a while back, but she couldn't shake something out of her mind.

Minato said he was from Port Island, Iwatodai. And at one point in her life, she lived there momentarily. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had indeed saw him somewhere, despite how large Iwatodai was. How long had it been since she had been there, anyway? Not counting last year's trip, she frowned and slammed her head onto her wooden desk.

Why was she so hung up on it?

"…Three years… ago…" She murmured softly, while turning her attention outside the window again.

Three years ago… that's right. Her mother… or father was it? Whichever the case, she had been dragged to the city, and to the hospital because of an injury. Not an injury of her own, but she could remember walking in the flawless white hospital corridors, visiting whomever on a daily basis.

She planted her head to the desk again, sounding another 'thud'. Kioku groaned.

In a ward… there was a girl. She always passed by that ward, everyday… and everyday, there was a girl. She always sang a lullaby, in a compellingly beautiful voice.

"What was that song…?" She mumbled again furtively.

"Umm, Ayasaki-san, are you all right?"

Kioku's head shot up, and glanced around. Everyone was staring at her, and in front of her desk, was that Amagi girl. She had wrecked her train of thought somewhere along the point when she tried forcing herself to remember. Letting out a small sigh, she faced Amagi.

"You've been slamming your head on the desk for a while now. Did something happen?"

"…No. It's fine."

"You don't look very well. Do you want to go to the nurse's office?"

"No, I'm fine." She insisted. "…I've just got a lot on my mind."

"…Well, try not to push yourself so hard." Amagi looked worried. "You seem tired of late."

"…Yeah." Kioku sighed, and her gaze returned to the cloudy skies.

"…Are you sure?"

"…I just…" Kioku let her voice trail off. "…"

"…You look pale…" Worried. Her voice was unmistakably worried.

"…I think…I'll head home early today. Can you please tell the teacher for me…?"

"Okay. But please, don't push yourself too hard, Ayasaki-san."

Kioku scooted out of her desk, and sauntered out of the room like a zombie. She felt extremely light-headed; colors were dancing on the windowsills. Despite how sluggish her body felt, she was able to think clearly. She scrambled out of the school gates.

* * *

**Samegawa Floodplains, Afternoon**

Now, she had all the time in the world to think to herself, to reflect her choices.

Two days ago, she invited a stranger to stay at her home.

Kioku realized at the time it was incredibly foolish of her to do so, but she did it anyway. She had no idea that he was, or how he had ended up in Inaba, but on that rainy night, when she first saw him, he looked lost. After approaching him, and even talking to him for a little bit, how could she leave him out in the rain? He looked tired, exhausted… what in the world did he do?

As she continued to hear her light footsteps pattering on the pavement, she continued to think.

Just a few days before, she had finally convinced her parents to let her live alone. Arguments sprang every night, and Kioku defended herself by stating, "_she was responsible enough_" or that "_she was a senior now_", and such other excuses. She assumed it was safe enough, because she lived next to a police man and his daughter. But last year, his daughter was kidnapped… And Kioku left out that bit of information. Finally, she won her case, and this year, she would be living by herself.

But as it turned out, it was no different from the other years she had spent in this house.

She didn't prefer to live by herself, but she did not wish to invite strangers, these so-called "friends" of her parents to begrudgingly take care of her out of a favor. Instead, every time they had pulled a stunt like this, she sent them away, but neither of them revealed the truth to her parents. So, she continued to live, alone.

But even so, she would often stay up late reading piles of novels to watching TV, anything to take her mind off of the fact she lived in a large house, far too large for one person. Empty. She could hear her voice echoing through the barren hallways, every time she talked in the empty house. Stupors of silence were common at her home.

To add to her increasing problems, she began to forget things as of late. Her lunch was the least of her problems. Several times, she had misplaced her parents' generous allowances, causing her to seek out a job (which wasn't too bad.) More than once, despite living in Inaba for about three years, she got lost too many times to count. Having a bad memory never appealed to her.

Still walking, she sighed.

Another thing that she found problematic was the_ Anti-social_ status she had gained. Kioku couldn't find a reason to think otherwise. She had never managed to strike and hold conversation with anyone. At the most, her replies would be too short. Even at school, she never talked, nor hung out with anybody. Also because of this, she found it hard for people to approach her. This truth about herself left her a bit perturbed. She had been stuck in Inaba for three years, and had no friends to call her own. Though, there was no reason to make friends. Once she finished High school, she was leaving. She wanted to live anywhere, but here.

But…

"_Kioku_… means 'to remember'…" She muttered in deep thought. "So why do I always forget…?"

Her attention was brought to the outside world. Though, she knew that she would not see any other students, the fact that there was nobody in sight bothered her. Normally, there would be some people wandering around the floodplains, no matter what time of day. Slightly alarmed, she began walking at a faster pace, when she tripped, and dropped her bag whereas all its contents fell onto the pavement. Hastily, she knelt down and crammed all her belongings back into the bag. While doing so, she did not notice the blank blue card she had picked up unknowingly.

Back on her feet, she ran the rest of the way home. She didn't stop until she got to the door.

Once inside, she kicked off her shoes and collapsed onto the couch. Kioku closed her eyes, and dropped her schoolbag carelessly onto the ground. She reopened her eyes a moment later after hearing the bag fall onto the wooden floor, and checked to see if anything had fallen out. Alone, on the ground was a blank blue card.

Kioku frowned, and slowly picked up the card.

"…?"

She flipped the card. There was a strange image of an opera mask, showing one half white, and the other black.

"…Where'd I get this?"

She continued to stare at the card when the doorbell went off. Still holding the card, she groggily rolled off the couch, and stood up. The doorbell went off again.

"Oh… that must be Arisato-san."

The doorbell continued to ring. Kioku shook her head, and took slow steps to the door.

"…Was I stupid to let him stay here?"

She reached for the doorknob.

"…No. I don't regret it."

Kioku opened the door.

* * *

**Late Night, Point of View change**

Minato had been out for quite sometime. After his visit to the shrine, he dropped by the bookstore, and spent quite some time reading Greek Mythology, out of impulse. He ended up staying there until the store had closed, and he bought the Greek Mythology book with him as well. Minato found it quite interesting learning the back-story of S.E.E.S.' personas. Who knew that Castor and Polydeuces were inseperable twins? That certainly explained itself for Akihiko and Shinjiro… somewhat.

He wondered what to do next. Igor had told him, that the Wild Card needed his help.

The main problem was, he didn't even know whom or where the Wild Card was. He shoved his hands into his pockets out of habit, and walked jauntily as the Junes bag bounced against his side. He took his time.

Despite how dark the streets were, he walked with no hesitation. He was used to the dark of night. At least there were no more coffins, pools of blood, or green sky.

But the TV in his room kept turning on every night. Or was he imagining it?

He sighed, and walked past countless houses, before reaching hers.

Why had she helped him in the first place? She could have left him out there in the rain, but instead, she offered him a place to stay.

Why?

Minato shook his head, stopped in front of her house, and rang the doorbell, once. There was no answer.

Frowning, he pressed the door lightly. It was open.

Alarmed, he cautiously walked inside the house. The lights were on, but something was definitely amiss. Chairs were flipped over, various objects were scattered on the floor, where was Kioku? Urgently, he ran to the side of the living room, and saw more things in disarray. Obviously, something had happened while he was away. There was a struggle; broken glass, a chair missing a leg… what the hell had happened?

As he walked through the carnage of what had once been the living room, the last place he looked at, was the rippling screen of the TV. Ignoring the screen, he turned his attention to the foot of the TV. There, lying on the floor was a tarot card.

Curiously, he picked it off the floor, and saw the unmistakable image on the back. When he flipped it to the other side, his eyes widened. Startled further, he stared at the TV, when he heard the unfamiliar hum.

"Welcome to Memory Lane."

* * *

8


	4. Chapter 4

A/n: Do not misunderstand. The Midnight Channel remains as the Midnight Channel. "Memory Lane" is the name of the show that is being shown. By the way, can you guys tell that this is my first time attempting to make a crossover?

…I don't know. Did I go a little too far with this chapter? Maaaaybe. Yay, the investigation squad finally moves into action. Or do they? The plot finally starts to show in this. Somewhat.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3 or the Persona 4 characters.**

**3/25/12 Sunday Early Morning**

"Welcome to Memory Lane. I'm Kioku Ayasaki, and I shall be your host."

It was her… but not quite. The look-alike, looked like a much younger version of the present Kioku. She was wearing black overalls, over a white long sleeved shirt. Oddly enough, she was holding a microphone. Behind her, the background was a soft blue sky with clouds floating behind languidly.

"Why do people forget?" The look-alike made elaborate gestures, as she spoke in an oddly cheerful manner. "Is it because we're too ashamed to remember? Or its it because there's nothing to gain from doing so?"

"What the hell…?" Minato blinked.

"Join me in my journey to remember what we cherished, or are too mortified to remember!" The younger double giggled happily. "Let's go further down, and see what lies in store, shall we? This is your host, Kioku Ayasaki, reporting live. Bye bye!" She waved to the screen before heading off deeper into the blue background.

After registering what had happened in mere moments, Minato stared at the now blank screen. He then took his time to look around at the disaster that had once been the living room, then at the blue tarot card he held loosely in his hand. He wondered where her cleaning supplies were.

**Sunday, Noon**

Minato had spent the morning cleaning the crime scene. He did not inform the authorities, as he should have done. He could have lied, saying that he was her distant cousin, but he didn't. Instead, he committed a federal offense by cleaning the scene, but he doubted that the police would be of any help.

He was lying on the sofa, exhausted. He had taken a small nap after he had finished. What the hell had he seen hours ago? Ever since he had arrived here, he had seen ripples on the TV. Now, this of all things had happened.

"…Is this the beginning of the 'ordeal'?" He mumbled to himself as he pulled out the tarot card from his pocket. "…If that's the case, then… where's the new Wild Card?"

There was no Dark Hour. Sure, Minato had obtained his evoker, but how in the world would he be able to summon his personae? Igor had told him there had been a 4th Wild Card after himself, so how did that Wild Card, Souji Seta, summon his persona?

Minato furrowed his eyebrows together in confusion. How would he be of help, if he couldn't summon his persona? Minato sighed, and pulled out the tarot card he had found at the foot of the TV. Puzzled, he lifted it up into the air.

There was an image of Thanatos.

"Pharos, Thanatos, the Appriser… Ryoji." Minato murmured quietly. Ryoji Mochizuke had countless titles, each more ominous than the last. As he held the card out, he flipped over numerous times. He closed his eyes.

"What do I do…?"

"Easy. Find out where she went."

"Huh?" Minato sat up, and glanced around. Nobody was here other than himself. "…I need more sleep… I must've imagined it…"

"Seriously?"

Startled, he stood up, and began searching around the room for the source of the voice. It was hauntingly familiar.

"…Ryoji?"

"Finally. I didn't think it would take you this long, Minato-kun."

Minato looked to his side, and saw the familiar face of the boy who liked impossibly long scarves. As soon as Minato recognized him, he gave a cheerful grin.

"…Where did you come from?"

"I'm your persona, did you forget that?"

"…Oh yeah."

"You're so messed up." Ryoji shook his head disapprovingly. "You forgot _me_?"

"Heh." Minato smirked, and asked, "So… where have so been? Or were you here all this time?"

"Didn't I tell you before? I'm always with you." Ryoji grinned when he saw Minato shudder. "I didn't have enough strength to appear in this form. Would you have rather seen 'death' when you first woke up?"

"…No."

"I thought so.

"So… How are you able to take this form anyway?"

"…Actually, I don't know myself. I think it's because you have that." Ryoji pointed to the Tarot Card, still in Minato's hand.

"Great. I'd hate to cut the pleasantries short, but Ryoji—"

"That girl, and the TV?"

"Yeah…"

"It's not your fault, Minato-kun."

Minato turned away from Ryoji, and faced the TV. "…I need to find her."

"And I want to help, but we both have no idea where she went. Judging by what you cleaned up, she obviously put up a fight."

"…So you think she was kidnapped?"

Ryoji nodded. "Listen to me, Minato-kun, you aren't going to learn anything by standing here. I suggest we go to town."

"And what? Tell the police that she went missing?"

"Calm down. I'm suggesting we go outside and gather information." Ryoji nearly shouted. "Maybe someone knows something about that strange show."

"Strange… show?"

"Y'know, that Memory Lane-thingy?"

"…" Minato nodded grudgingly as he grabbed the keys he had found last night on the floor. He walked hurriedly to his room, and grabbed his evoker off the desk, and shoved it into his pants pocket. Finally, he headed downstairs.

"Going prepared?"

"I can't be too careful."

"…You must be really worried about her."

"…She may be the new Wild Card."

"Sure, sure…" Ryoji shrugged. "Let's go Minato-kun."

**Afternoon, Junes Food Court**

"So Ryoji, could you please explain to me why we're here of all places?" Minato fumed.

Ryoji just laughed and grinned. "Because. I'm starving, and so are you."

Minato stared at him for a few seconds.

"Yes, eating and doing almost everything human applies to me too, and I know you're starving because I am you, or at least I came from you."

Minato turned the volume on his MP3 moodily.

"Minato, the card you have is basically providing me a physical link to the outside world." Ryoji sighed. "Do you have to be such a killjoy?"

Minato said nothing. Seeing his lack of response, Ryoji grabbed a menu.

"Junes Yakisoba sounds tasty, but so does the okonomiyaki…" Ryoji began mumbling. "Dang that really does look tasty! Hey Minato, what do you want?"

Again, there was a lack of response on Minato's side.

"Fine… you're getting the same thing as me. And, you're paying." Ryoji said as he stood up from his seat.

"Wait, what—?" Too late. Ryoji was already ordering the food. Minato sighed.

Once again, Minato sighed. He lowered the volume slightly, and tried listening to other sounds. He perked up slightly, when he heard something quite peculiar.

"Yosuke! There's someone inside the TV! And the fog is back too!"

"Are you being delusional again Ted?"

Still seated, Minato turned his head. From the corner of his eye, he saw the blond he met yesterday talking to a headphone-wearing brunette.

"Yosuke, the fog is back! My world… it…" He seemed frantic. Minato could only wonder why.

"Teddie, what fog?" The brunette raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you watch the weather report? They said that it'd be sunny for the rest of the week."

"NO, not _that_ fog! The_ other _fog!" Teddie threw his arms down angrily. "There's someone in there! We have to go—!"

"Excuse me?" Yosuke, or whatever his name was, sounded skeptical. "Ted. I don't know about any other worlds, so stop talking and get back to work!"

"…You mean… what do you mean you don't know about other worlds?" The blond said slowly. "You don't know…?"

"What don't I know?" The brunette asked inquisitively.

"…Yosuke… where did you first meet me?" Teddie had a serious and bleak expression.

"Whoa, why so serious?" Yosuke shook his head, and sighed. "Don't you remember? I met you outside of Junes. You were sitting outside like a hobo, and my parents were nice enough to let you stay. Is it that important to know?"

Teddie looked as if the brunette had slapped him. He looked like he wanted to cry. The expression on his face was a mixture of horror, and sadness.

"So… you don't remember?" He said slowly, as the truth dawned on him.

"Remember what?"

"…Yosuke, I'm going to be gone for a while." He finally said after some deep contemplation. He looked away from the "I…uh… I guess… It's better… right?"

"What's better?" Yosuke frowned, while giving Teddie a concerned look.

"Yosuke, do you still remember Sensei…? Do you remember the team…?" Teddie mumbled, while still looking away from Yosuke's stare.

"You mean Souji? Yeah, the transfer student who moved away, right? I never did find out the reason why you called him Sensei." Yosuke frowned again. "What team?"

"…Nothing." Teddie looked downcast. "Well then, I'll be back… in a couple hours I guess."

"Okay buddy." The brunette nodded. "Be careful, you here?"

Teddie nodded, and walked away with heavy shoulders. The blond looked like he carried a large burden on his shoulders. He walked out of the food court, and outside into the town.

Minato frowned. What did Teddie mean when he said 'someone inside the TV' and the 'other world'? He took up his can of Mad Bull, and sipped it gingerly as Ryoji came waltzing back, while carrying a tray with two plates of Yakisoba.

"Minato! Let's eat!" He said cheerfully as he placed the tray on the table's plastic surface. He then noticed Minato's look of concern, and sat down in the seat opposite of him. "What is it?"

"…I think I found something, but at the moment, I think we should stick around here for an hour or so." Minato said finally as he grabbed a plate of Yakisoba, and snapped a pair of wooden chopsticks in half.

"Okay…" Ryoji nodded as he also grabbed his own Yakisoba plate. "But don't forget that you're paying Minato."

"…" Minato groaned.

They stuck around looking and wandering at the store, with Ryoji occasionally wandering off, leaving Minato to find him. Finally, after a couple of hours, Minato spotted a rather depressed blond standing in front of the same over-sized TV.

"…I guess… I'm all by myself now." He mumbled dejectedly as Minato and Ryoji listened intently from behind the headphones rack. "Chie-chan, Yuki-chan, Rise-chan, Kanji, and even Nao-chan… and Sensei isn't here anymore…"

"What's he saying?" Ryoji asked furtively as Minato shushed him.

"I guess… It's up to me to save that girl!" The blond puffed up his chest as he shook his shoulders. "Yeah! Then… maybe I can ask her to…" Teddie's voice trailed off, and he gulped. "I can ask her to help me…"

Quietly, the blond glanced around the vicinity to check if anyone was nearby, to which Minato and Ryoji ducked behind the rack. Finally, he pressed his attention to the TV, and effortlessly stuck his arm into the screen. Minato and Ryoji exchanged looks. White ripples were circling his arm, as he ventured farther.

"Here we go." Teddie said finally as he thrust his head into the flat-screen TV, and disappeared from sight, while leaving white ripples in his wake.

As soon as he disappeared, Minato and Ryoji ran in front of the TV.

"What the hell just happened?" Ryoji asked with a bewildered, look.

"I'm just about as clueless as you are." Minato shrugged, with his eyes staring intently at the TV.

"Well… snooping around won't get us anywhere…" Ryoji glanced at the TV suggestively. "What do you say to experience it first-hand?"

"Experience what?" Minato asked as he raised a cobalt eyebrow.

"Seriously, have you lost touch?" Ryoji grinned, as Minato shot a glare. "Well, there's only one way to find out where he went."

"…Fine." Minato sighed, as he stood in front of the TV.

Cautiously, he touched the screen reluctantly. His hand slipped through easily, as if he were dipping his hand into water. White ripples emanated from the part of the screen that he touched.

"This… is weird…" Minato glanced around to see if anyone was nearby. "Hey Ryoji, I—"

Ryoji had mysteriously vanished. Minato sighed, and returned his attention to his missing hand.

"Here goes nothing." He stuck his head through the TV, and had the strange sensation that he was falling.


	5. Chapter 5

DemonRailey- I see where you're coming from about Ryoji. Kioku is unable to make fusion skills silly. Instead, she possesses a skill that rivals both Wild Cards, but there's something rather surprising about her ability that also says otherwise. Also, didn't Igor say that this ordeal affects specifically the Wild Cards? Anyway, I can't tell you anymore, or you might figure out what I'm getting at.

Cast49- I can't tell you yet.

Chaos0205- I managed to fix my Hierophant (dad's) social link, so now its nearly complete. I have a lot to work on, and my best friend is of the Priestess Arcana. The irony is the first thing that she cooked for me that I tasted, I nearly died from the hole it was burning into my tongue. Since when did my Star Social link go reverse? O_O

Anyway, you forget Minato is a genius, Teddie's on his own for now, Ryoji… I can't lol. As for the investigation team, something like that, but also not so much. Keep guessing.

Rose- I can't say.

Other than that… the P3P Moon Social link makes me squeal like a like a little girl. That pairing, is extremely cutesy. Who knew Shinji had it in him?

Mmkay, I'm sorry for the extremely late update. My Flashdrive commited suicide, so there went any and all updates I once had, but was too lazy to post. So, I had to rewrite this entire chapter from memory. Yeah, that's about it.

* * *

???

Minato had fallen on the ground… or whatever as a messed up heap of clothes. As he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his clothes, he squinted. There was a thick unearthly fog, which made it nearly impossible to see.

"…Crap." Minato uttered as he squinted into the muddled fog. "Ryoji?"

No response.

"…Disappearing right when I need him…" Minato shook his head.

After a rather long silence, he decided began walking aimlessly in a random direction; all the while listening to his MP3 play 'Burn my Dread.' Oddly enough, he heard something in the distance. Curiously, he walked off in that direction.

"Mi… to…"

Minato stopped walking.

"Mi…nat…!"

He turned around, with a puzzled look on his face.

"Minato!" A rather miffed Ryoji walked up to him, grabbed him by the shoulders, and started shaking him. "Do you know how worried I was?! I look away for one second, and you disappear on me!"

"…" Minato had amused look on his face as Ryoji stopped shaking him. "So… what's with the fog?"

"Fog? What fog?" Ryoji asked inquisitively as he let go off Minato's shoulders.

"The one that's nearly impossible to see through, and what we're surrounded by."

"Oh." Ryoji nodded. "I can see perfectly fine. How do you think I found you so fast?"

"You can see through it?"

"…Yeah." Ryoji let out a very Minato-like sigh.

"Great. Because I can barely see." Minato said dejectedly. "So… did you notice anything worth looking at?"

"Well… This place… it kinda feels like Tartarus." Ryoji frowned slightly.

"In all probability, if that's the case, then I presume there are shadows here too." Minato shook his head distastefully. "I guess I was right to bring my evoker."

"You wouldn't be wrong, if it certainly is the case." Ryoji glanced around. "…Yeah. Anyway, I saw something interesting a while back. Follow me."

Grabbing Minato by the sleeve, he pulled him toward the fog. Minato could barely tell where Ryoji was taking him due to his lack of sight. All he could see was enormous bouts of thick, yellow fog swirling about.

"…Hey… you didn't happen to see Teddie, did you?" Minato asked curiously.

"I can't say I did." Ryoji shrugged. "Though, I did see a weird bear-thing a while ago while I was looking for you, but whatever."

"I see." Minato said as he squinted through the fog, but saw nothing. "Damn… I can't see anything."

"Well, then I guess I'll have to be your eyes for the time being." Ryoji joked. "There, it's almost ahead. Can you see… oh, wait you probably can't."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"…Smartass."

"Shut up. We're here, and do yourself a favor and duck. That bear thing is here." Ryoji pointed.

"Wait, why do we have to hide?" Minato frowned. "What's the point of hiding?"

"Use your ears, not your eyes. That little girl is here."

"What?"

"Shush."

"Well, it's about time you people… or at least someone showed up. I'm surprised there aren't more of you. That is unless you two count."

A girlish voice with a slightly warped edge was heard. Despite he couldn't see, Minato raised his head a couple of centimeters, and looked in the direction he heard the voice come from.

"What are you saying? I'm the only one here." A somewhat childish voice was heard this time. _'Teddie'_, Minato thought immediately. "And what do you mean by 'you two'?"

"Oh, your senses must be going out of whack, if you do not understand what I mean." The girly voice said snidely. "No matter. I suppose all guests are accounted for, and so thus, we shall begin."

"…Begin what?" Teddie asked cautiously.

"Why, a sonata of memories." The voice said in an elaborate way. All of a sudden, loud broken music flooded into the area. Minato raised the volume on his MP3 a couple of notches, and despite the fog, he could see Ryoji covering his ears.

"What horrible noise!" Teddie sounded exasperated. "I don't even know what a sonata is!"

"Is that so?" The music was halted. "Oh dear, oh dear. It seems I've forgotten what I was supposed to do again." The voice was somber this time. "Why do people forget anyway?"

"Now what are you saying?!"

"You of all people should know what I mean." The voice took on a darker tone. "Or are you even a person? After all, this place bares the soul. Do you even have one? Why did you force yourself to forget your true nature?"

"W-what, what are you saying?!"

"Ah, I control this place, I see what thoughts floating in your mind. Shall we remember together?" The voice took on a happier tone. "Perhaps not, for I have other things in mind that need baring. I leave you to discover yourself, so bye~!"

The sound of light footsteps faded after a moment.

"W-well, if you think that's going to stop me, it isn't! I'll be the hero today!" He exclaimed. "Rawr!"

The sound of light squeaking filled the air, then disappeared a moment after.

"What the hell just happened?" Ryoji mumbled incredulously.

"I don't know." Minato shrugged. "What did you see?"

"Well, there was a little girl in overalls and a red and blue bear. You heard the conversation, so I don't think I need to explain that to you." Ryoji sighed. "That girl… there's some sort of aura around her. Like a shadow, but not…"

"Hmm…" Minato squinted through the fog. He saw a blurry doorway in the midst of it, which seemed out of place. "…Well. I'm not waiting for you." Minato stood up.

"You're going to charge in when you can barely see?" Ryoji shook his head. "Keep squinting like that and you'll end up wearing glasses one day."

"Stop worrying. I'll be fine." Minato reasoned. "This can't be harder than anything I've faced before, right?"

"Perhaps." Ryoji sighed. "…I guess I'll lead you through. Keep your evoker handy, because I can't protect and guide you at the same time."

"I haven't let myself go that badly." Minato shot a glare. "Anyway, do you still have your powers? After all, the seal…" Minato let his voice trail off.

"I have some to an extent. Like seeing through the fog." Ryoji nodded reluctantly. "Mother…I mean, Nyx was feeding me power. But since the seal is still present, she can't give me any. So, I'm basically a human now." Ryoji gave a relieved sigh.

Minato cracked a small smile.

"Well… lead away."

* * *

The interior of the building looked remotely like an hospital. The building was pristine; despite it's location, it was very well kept. As the pair advanced several floors, there were no shadows in sight. The hospital was empty as well, so it was very creepy.

"How many floors have we gone up?" Minato asked curiously as he peeked through the already empty wards of the hospital.

"Four. Nothing's happening." Ryoji turned around. "You should really stop looking past those. Nothing's in there."

"Yeah, yeah…" came the mumbled reply.

"Hurry up then." Ryoji sighed.

"…"

"Minato, the stairs are over here."

"…"

"Hey, are you listening?" Ryoji shook his head. "The stairs are right there, so let's just--"

Ryoji turned to look at his companion, only to see that he wasn't present anymore. Back-tracking, he went back a couple of hallways, to see the blue-haired boy staring inside a ward, completely mesmerized.

"Minato?" As Ryoji approached him, Minato made no response. He merely stared inside the ward, not even noting Ryoji's presence.

Confused, Ryoji clutched a loose thread oh his scarf as he peeked behind Minato's head, to see what the boy was so intent on watching, so far as he would go to ignore him. His eyes widened slightly.

A somewhat familiar scene was taking place in the ward; Minato was lying in the bed, and nearby, was the familiar pink-loving girl was sitting on a stool.

The person in the bed stirred.

"Ah… Are you okay?"

"I'm so glad that you're finally awake." There was a sigh of relief. "Really, how long were you planning on sleeping? You've been asleep for a week."

A dull nod. What in the world was Ryoji watching?

"But, I'm really glad. I was really worried."

"…This is…?"

"Oh, this is Tatsumi Memorial Hospital. A little ways from the station."

"…" A blank stare. "Why are you here?"

Ryoji glanced down at Minato, who was standing right beside him. Still, he made no response, even when he had grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him a bit. He even unplugged his headphones out of his MP3, and still got no response. He turned his attention back to the ward.

"…So please forgive me."

"It's not your fault." Both Arisatos said the remark at the same time. Then it hit Ryoji.

_They were watching a memory. _One of Minato's memories to be exact. Ryoji facepalmed for a moment, before charging into the ward. In an instant, the scene that appeared before their eyes melted away, leaving an empty ward. Ryoji sighed with relief, and turned back to his blue-haired companion.

"…Uh? What happened…?" Minato brought a hand to his forehead, and brushed away the fringe that was obscuring his vision. "Ryoji?"

"Yeah, yeah… Idiot." Ryoji walked out of the ward. "Next time when I tell you to stay close, you listen."

"Wait… what happened?"

"You got lost in one of your memories. And as stupid as that sounds, it's true."

"…Pfft."

"Shut up, I just saved you from being trapped. Now let's go. It isn't good for you to stay here."

~Floor 5~

There was an uncomfortable silence, as they climbed the flight of stairs.

"Hey… Ryoji…"

"Yeah?"

"…You said I was watching a memory?"

He nodded. "Yes. This place… there's something peculiar about it that makes it unlike Tartarus, but similar. I'm still wondering why it showed you your memories." Ryoji looked peculiarly at Minato. "So, what memory was that from?"

"After I summoned my Persona… I believe." Minato frowned. "Why would it show something like that…?"

"U-Uwaahhh!"

Startled, Minato and Ryoji immediately began running. Half-dragging Minato along the corridors, Ryoji ran at a frightening fast speed to the source of the screams.

"Wha, what are you doing here!? You guys shouldn't be in here! It's dangerous!" Despite the murky yellowness of the fog, Minato was able to make out the figure of a brightly colored bear.

Ryoji took a step forward. "Relax. We're just here to--"

"No, you don't understand! The shadows are coming!" The bear-figure thing sounded frantic. "Aaargh! I'm gonna have to protect you both?! This is going to be beary exhausting!"

"For your information, I don't need any help--"

"No, get out of here bearfore--"

"Wait, what's with the Bear pu--"

"Heeere they come!"

Like the bear had said, blood-curdling screams erupted through the end of the hallway, resulting in a massive torrent of black, blood-eyed shadows. Each crawled haphazardly over each, heading dead on toward the group.

"Bearsona!" The bear cried out, after hitting something illuminating. Minato could barely make out the figure, but it looked like an larger bear had appeared behind the figure, and summoned several gigantic ice blocks, which Minato recognized as Mabufudyne.

"You have a persona?" Minato mused as he watched the chunks of ice bombarded the incoming hoard.

"Yes, and it would be beary nice if you summoned yours too!" The bear said angrily as its persona began wiping out the first row of shadows, who were quickly replaced ten-fold.

Minato reluctantly pulled his evoker out of his holster, and put it to his head.

"Orpheus!"

The metallic white-haired persona appeared from the burst of shards that erupted form Minato's temple, and struck the lyre with a quick swipe of his fabric covered hands. Immediately, a large burst of fire erupted, from the lyre, decimating the shadows as more appeared out of the yellow fog.

"…Crap. I can only target the ones I can see…" Minato bit his lip as he fired off again, summoning Orpheus to assist the bear-thing, who was having some trouble fending off the shadows.

"Thanks!" It squeaked as it charged forward, mowing down the hoard with an absurdly large claw.

"Maragidyne!" Large columns of fire decimated and effectively destroyed the shadows, clearing a clear path for Teddie.

"Kamui!"

The strange bear-like persona appeared once more, and effective summoned a iceberg-sized Bufudyne, blocking the shadows from advancing from that point in the hallway.

"Traesto!" The bear cried, as a blinding light enveloped Minato and Ryoji.

Minato and Ryoji were now standing back at the entrance, along with the bear thing. It was panting heavily.

"Sooo… who… ah-are you? And what are-" The bear inhaled a deep amount of air. "-you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Minato mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. The damn fog was getting in the way of his vision again.

"Oh, you can't see, can you? Try these on. They'll help you see." The bear motioned for Minato to take what was resting in its hand. Gingerly, Minato picked up the parcel, and immediately recognized it as a pair of normal looking glasses.

Was the bear kidding him?

Slightly amused, Minato put on the pair of glasses. Instantaneously, he could see through the fog as though it were never there in the first place. Minato turned to the bear; it was dressed in an oddly showy mascot suit.

"There; that's better. Thanks."

The bear nodded, and stepped closer to Minato. "Heeeey. You're that customer I helped out. How the heck did you get in here?!"

Minato blinked. "Huh? Wait… so you're Teddie?" The ridiculous looking bear-mascot was the blond he had met before?

"That's right. I'm glad you remember my name. Now, can you tell me how you got here?"

"Through the TV." Ryoji stated.

"I already know that!" Teddie said with frustration. "I'm asking why are you here."

"I'm here because an acquaintance of mine was supposedly kidnapped." Minato said briskly. "And I saw you go through the TV at Junes."

"That's the main reason!" Ryoji chirped.

Even though Minato couldn't see his face at the moment, he could tell that he looked surprised, judging by his reaction. "…That was beary careless of me."

"No kidding. I'm surprised that other people haven't found out about this place." Ryoji chuckled. "Anyway, would you mind explaining to me what you are?"

"What?" Minato blinked. "He isn't human?"

"That's what I'm asking. I can tell anyway…" Ryoji turned his gaze to Teddie. "Well?"

Teddie looked away. "…I-I'm a shadow."

"Oh. Mmkay." Minato nodded duly. Seeing Minato's reaction, Teddie's mouth went slack. Minato suppressed a chuckle. Apparently, he wasn't expecting that kind of reaction.

"Excuse me?!" Teddie said incredulously. "That's it? You aren't going to throw stones at me or something?"

"Nope." Minato pointed to Ryoji, who waved slightly.

"Of course not. After all…" Ryoji crept closer to the bear and whispered in his ear. "-I'm the embodiment of all shadows."

"W-WHAT?!"

"And you have it from Death himself." Ryoji grinned. "So, mind telling us how to get out of here?"

"Uhh…okay?"

* * *

Sorry if this chapter wasn't to your liking. I had to write based on my memory, and trust me, mine sucks. Horrendously.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, are you going to let us out or what?" Ryoji stepped back from the bear, giving him a bit a room.

"...Err..." Teddie looked away, embarrasedly. "...No."

"Excuse me?" Minato blinked.

"I won't let you out unless you promise me something..." Teddie looked away from both of their questioning gazes.

"And that would be?" asked Minato nonchalantly as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I want you to help me get rid of the fog..." Teddie gestured to the sweltering yellow fog overhead. "...It wasn't always like this you know. It used to be really pretty a while back."

"That's kind of hard to imagine."

"...But it's true." Teddie shuddered. "It was just fine a while ago, until that girl fell in here... I wonder who pushed her inside?"

"Wait, so she was pushed inside a TV?"

"Well, it actually does make sense, because we did come here through a TV." Ryoji still was looking around the premises. "It's rather peculiar. If you know that she was pushed inside the TV, has something like this happened in the past before?"

"...It was just a couple of days ago too. The fog just came back." Teddie cringed. "That's why I'm asking you if you can help me."

"...I'd like to help, but I can't." Minato sighed. "If you got rid of the fog before, then why don't you and your friends go-"

"...They don't remember." Teddie said solemnly.

"Huh?"

"I just went to visit all of them before I went in here." Teddie heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know why... but most of them acted as though they hadn't even met me before... and I can't contact Sensei."

"Sensei?" Minato repeated.

"He's my Sensei... he's the one who beat Izanami, and got rid of the fog." Teddie mumbled dejectedly. "He was really strong, because he could summon several personas. I only have Kamui."

"Really?" Ryoji asked with mild interest as he glanced around the fog. "And I suppose this Sensei of yours was the leader of your group of friends?"

"Yeah... How did you know that?"

"Oh, just a feeling." Ryoji said as he smirked smugly at Minato. "So, you mind taking us out of here?"

"I will... only if you help me get rid of the fog."

Minato and Ryoji exchanged glances. Minato broke eye contact, and sighed quietly. This wasn't his problem. Yet, he was getting dragged into this mess; one that had nothing to do with him. At the moment, his priority was getting Kioku out of here, and to find out what the ordeal Igor spoke so enigmatically about. He sighed again.

"...I..." Minato glanced at Ryoji again. In response, Ryoji gave one of his trademark smiles. "...I guess so."

"You will?!" Teddie nearly shouted. "Really!?"

"...Yeah... but I won't make any promises." Minato sighed resigning, while watching Teddie do a little dance in his joy.

"This could prove quite entertaining. At least to me." Ryoji grinned as he grabbed Minato's right shoulder.

"...I guess."

* * *

**Junes, Afternoon**

"That's a weird way to get out of a TV." Ryoji remarked after falling flat on his face. "Going inside a stack of TV's and ending up outside of one? And this pretty much marks something in my book. Though, it still isn't as impressive as Tartar-"

"Save your logical inferences for later; Get off of me." Minato interrupted as he gagged, while shoving Ryoji's ass off of his head. Regaining his poise, he stood up and turned to Teddie. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"...So Teddie. Are you going to be here tomorrow?"

"Yeah." He nodded in his bear costume. "After all, you'll need a way to get back out if you go inside, right?"

Minato nodded, after lending a hand to help Ryoji get off the floor.

"Well. I guess we'll head back to her house."

"Her house?" Teddie perked up. "You mean you're living with that girl?"

"Tempora-"

"Is she beautiful?" Immediately, the bear suit that he was wearing vanished into thin air. Now before him, stood the the blond bishounen he had first met before. "Is she looking for a hot stud by any chance?"

_'Another flirt?'_ Minato thought immediately after Teddie's display.

"Why Teddie, I didn't know you had it for girls!" Ryoji cut in, in which Minato had not expected. "Have you ever been to Port Island by any chance? Because there are plenty of pretty girls there!"

"You mean the school?"

"Exactly! I mean, did you see all the hot babes?!"

Minato sighed again. '_What the heck is up with shadows and girls?' _He thought as he watched the two shadows get in a heated discussion about 'scoring hot girls' and why shadows are 'studs.' Minato watched the conversation with mild interest.

"Oh Ted. Where the heck have you been?" The heated conversation was halted, and Teddie looked up. The headphone-wearing brunette in the apron was standing in front of the trio, arms folded. "Oh, did you make some friends?"

"Yeah." Teddie nodded happily.

"Well, if Teddie didn't already tell you about me, I'm Yosuke Hanamura." He said briskly, while looking at Minato and Ryoji. "Yeah. Anyway, there's something I have to tell you, Ted."

"Yeah, what is it Yosuke?" Teddie stepped forward.

"It's about you living with me." Yosuke didn't look sad in the slightest, despite the tone of his voice. "My parents decided they couldn't afford keeping you in the house, so now you have to move out."

Teddie's mouth formed a circle and yelled, "W-What?!"

"Don't worry. You still have your job. You just have to move out." Yosuke said nonchalantly. "Nothing I can do about it."

"But Yosuke...!"

"I said I couldn't do anything about it!" Yosuke snapped, as he turned around and began walking away. "Don't ask any questions!"

There was an uncomfortable silence, as they watched the brunette walk away.

"..." Teddie looked despaired. "...Now where will I live?!"

He looked frantic. Minato didn't know what to say, despite himself. It was incredibly heartless of that guy to rain on his parade like that. Minato scratched his head, and asked, "...Hey Teddie. Who was that guy?"

"...He _was_ the second friend I ever made." Teddie stared blankly at the spot where Yosuke had turned the corner and vanished. "...What's going on...? What happened to him...?"

"Maybe the return of the fog has something to do with it?" Ryoji suggested as he pat Teddie's back. "Cheer up. You can go home with us."

**"Really!**?" Teddie'a expression slightly brightened.

"Yeah, I don't se-- Gah?!"

Minato had seized the end of Ryoji's scarf, and dragged him to a seperate aisle, ignoring his strangled protests. When he thought they were clear of Teddie's hearing range, Minato dropped his scarf.

"What's your problem?!"

"**What the hell." **Minato said furiously. "You can't just go inviting him over like that. We don't even own the house."

"So? She isn't home right now, and you have the keys." Ryoji pointed out. "What's the problem of letting him stay? He's just a kid."

"Yeah but--"

"You wouldn't leave him on the streets to starve, would you?"

"No-"

"And he is helping you-"

"But that's beside the point-"

"So he's staying."

"He isn't."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"...NO."

"No."

"No... Did you actually think that would work?"

"Damn it! You're too cruel..."

...

"...Fine, he stays."

"YES!"

"Shut up." Minato said finally after sighing. "...It really isn't my call, because this isn't my house. I guess it's okay for the time being..."

But Ryoji was too busy chatting with Teddie to hear him. Minato sighed resigningly, and stared into empty space. Why was he trying to help her in the first place? Was it because Igor asked him to? Or was it because she had helped him? Sighing, he turned back to the pair of shadows. He just wanted to go home.

**

* * *

**

**???**

"...Huh...?" Kioku woke up groggily. She was lying in a hospital bed, in a white ward. Quickly, she threw off the covers and sat up. There was no one else in the room except for herself. Sliding off the bed, she touched her head to see that it was still throbbing. What had happened? Where was she? Quietly, she stood up and recalled that when she had opened the door, someone had hit her in the head. Did she get knocked out? And if she was in a hospital, did that mean someone had taken her there?

Still rubbing her head, she glanced around the ward. For some reason, she never enjoyed going to the Hospital. Biting her lip, she began heading toward the exit.

_I wouldn't go there if I were you._

Kioku slowly turned around. There was a little girl... who looked exactly like she did when she was younger. However, the only difference was that this girl had yellow-hued eyes, and a small, but creepy smile.

"Why shouldn't I?"

_Because. If you left, you wouldn't be able to find your way back. _The girl giggled. _After all, you've gotten lost for too many times to count._

Kioku stared at the girl. "Excuse me?"

_Ohh, are you upset? Don't worry. _She walked over to Kioku, and ruffled her hair a bit. _Let's hope that those people come back for you._

"What people...?"

_C'mon, I know you know what I just said. _The girl tutted, while shaking her head dramatically.

"...?"

_Y'know, that blue-haired guy. _The girl chimed. _You're such a softie. You couldn't bear to leave him out in the rain. Even if you didn't know him, you still let him stay. _The girl paused. _Do you know him?_

"No. I've only met--"

_So contradictory! You were agonizing over it a while ago! Why is that?_

"How do you know that?"

_I know a lot of things. We both know that you hate hospitals, yet you created one. Why is that so? Can you remember the reason?_

Kioku stared at the yellow-eyed girl.

_Can you remember how you got here in the first place...? _She chirped, while fixing the sheet covers of the bed. _I know you know. So why is it that you don't want to say it?_

Kioku continued to stare, at a lost for words.

_Oh, lighten up! After you get over this, we can play, okay? _The girl flashed a smile, and Kioku felt her back against a wall.

* * *

**Ayasaki Residence, Night**

"Wooow... This place is so big..." Teddie gaped at the size of the house. "And you say that she lived here by herself?"

"That's pretty much what happened... until I came along, that is." Minato said as he jingled the keys in his left hand.

"Considering that she does live by herself, this place is pretty big." Ryoji turned to Minato. "Speaking of which, do you think she had an alterior motive in bringing you here?"

Minato stared at Ryoji. "What?"

"I don't know. I mean, do you think that she had a reason to bring you here?"

"I know what you mean, but I've never met her before until a couple of days before." Minato shook his head.

"But what if she met YOU somewhere?"

"What, you mean I met her at some point three years ago?"

"Yeah... Maybe. I'm only guessing."

"...Maybe I met her at Kyoto or something..." Minato mumbled inaverdantly as he brushed away the fringe covering his face, only to fall back into place. "But she acted as though she had never met me before, and if that girl in the TV looked anything like her, I'm pretty sure I would remember her face."

"Something like that perhaps..." Ryoji turned around, and saw Teddie sticking his head into the oversized TV in the living room. "Teddie-kun! Get your head out of there!"

Half of Teddie's body had vanished into the TV, and it was very peculiar to see his legs flailing around. Grabbing his foot, Ryoji tugged his entire body out of the TV screen, ceasing the flood of white ripples, and resulting in both Teddie and Ryoji lying on the floor.

"What? It's actually preeetty interesting." Teddie chirped as he got back to his feet, while helping Ryoji up in the process.

"What do you mean by that?" Minato asked inquisitively.

"There's something going on in there. Or actually, you're in there." Teddie pointed to Minato, and then to the TV screen. "I don't know what's going on, but why don't you both take a look?"

"You aren't going to push us in, are you?" Minato asked plainly.

"NO! Of course not!" Teddie humphed indignantly. "What do you take me for?"

"Jeez, relax." Ryoji chimed. "We'll take a look."

Minato and Ryoji glanced at each other reluctantly before stepping near the TV. At the same time, both of them plunged their heads into the screen.

"_Hey... do you remember... what I told you?"_

Minato blinked. A familiar scene unfolded before him, as he felt the watery sensation of being between both worlds. A familiar feeling had enveloped his half of the body.

This feeling was... the Dark Hour?

_"Maybe... the "End" is unavoidable." _A familiar voice echoed around, as Minato looked at the scene below. Another familiar face had made his way into his mind as he began staring. He realized he was watching from the TV of his old bedroom. Questioning it was the least of his worries at the moment. Straining to get a better view, Minato dragged himself from the TV slightly into the green-hued room. He stifled a gasp as he got a clear view.

_"But... it's strange."_

A boy in black striped pajamas was sitting on his bed, with him still lying on the bed.

_"How you see it is completely opposite."_ There was a vague smile on the boy's face. _"I can feel a lot of possibilities from you."_

In the meanwhile, Minato turned to see if Ryoji was beside him. With a quick turn of his head, he realized that he wasn't there. Slightly panicking, he went back into the living room, to see that Ryoji was not present; only the blond was.

"Hey, where'd Ryoji go-" Teddie started to say, but Minato didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. Instead, he dove back into the TV.

_"Hey, I'm glad... that we became friends." _The boy glanced down at his still form. _"I'm very interested in you... kinda!"_

As he began to walk away to the door, Minato watched himself rise from his bed.

"Your name." He yawned. "...What's your name?"

_"Oh, a name?" He blinked, before looking slightly suprised. "Oh, a name. I need a name."_

He cracked a smile, and held a hand out to him. _"My name is... Pharos. It's Pharos."_

His old self reached for Pharos' hand. For that split second, he saw Thanatos' form. "_Nice to meet you."_

He retracted his hand in his shock, leaving Pharos' empty. In that moment, Minato caught a look of loneliness in his two-toned eyes, despite the small smile that remained on his face.

"_I'm glad we became friends today... I'll come again soon..." _Pharos chimed as he edged near the door. _"It'll be fun from now on."_

As Pharos reached for the door handle, Minato clambered out of the small TV and grabbed his hand.

The boy stared at him for a moment after realizing that Minato was there. He stared, as the rest of the room melted away, leaving only the TV, Pharos and himself in an expanse of empty white. For a second, Pharos smiled, and dissapeared with the rest of the room, leaving Ryoji where he once stood.

"Déjà vu… is never fun…" He remarked as he rubbed his head embarrassedly.

"And what was that all about?" asked Minato as he let go of Ryoji's hand.

"… Death is a lonely existence." He said with a nostalgic look in his eyes. "Back then, at that time, I was very happy to have made a friend. Still am, of course." He grinned.

"Glad to here that." Minato nodded slightly.

The sound of glass shattering rung out.

_Thou art I… I art thou…_

_Thy Fortune Social link hath been reawakened after thy depths of slumber…_

_Thou will be blessed when choosing to create persona of the Fortune Arcana…_

'…_That's different.' _Minato thought as he stared at Ryoji. '_Wait… 'reawakened'?"_

"Well. We should get out of here. I don't feel like staying."

Minato absentmindedly nodded, walked to the TV, and plunged in headfirst after making sure Ryoji was following behind him. When they made it to their side, they both fell out of the TV, with Ryoji landing on top of him again.

"Y'know, next time you go first." Minato remarked after allowing Ryoji to get up.

"Bwaaah… I can't breath…"

Minato looked down, to see Teddie lying on his stomach. With this, Minato realized that he was on top of Teddie, so as quickly as he could manage, he got up and helped him up to his feet.

"Sorry." Minato mumbled apologetically.

"It's okay. I was wondering where you guys went. I was about to go after you, when both of you suddenly appeared and landed on top of me!" Teddie said exasperatedly, with a small frown. "What happened down there?"

"It's nothing to worry about Teddie." Ryoji said comfortingly as he tussled the blond's hair. "So, I say we all eat something, and get some rest. Then, we can go back and save that Kioku-girl."

"One problem." Minato bemusedly pointed out. "Where are you two going to sleep?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

"I have the room upstairs, but I'm not sure if you could use the other rooms in the house." Minato said nonchalantly. "And here, I see only one couch…"

"…" There was an uncomfortable silence, as Minato walked up the stairs, keeping his smirk to himself.


End file.
